OT - Best WWII movie?

[merge83]

The Russians produced a large number of movies never seen here for the most part. I have viewed some and they're quite good. [:'(]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: ghoward79

The Russians produced a large number of movies never seen here for the most part. I have viewed some and they're quite good. [:'(]

Welcome to the forum.[:)]

[the dragon]

Battleground(1949)

It won 2 Oscars in 1950 & was nominated for 4 more including Best Picture.
I never see it mentioned in any thread like this but it is well worth watching.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/

the dragon

[Anonymous]

Joyeux Noel
Slaughterhouse 5
Mother Night
Platoon
The Beast of War
Tobruk
Waterloo
Spartacus
The Counterfeit Traitor
Von Ryans Express
The Long Ships

[micheljq]

ORIGINAL: Tolstoy

Joyeux Noel
Slaughterhouse 5
Mother Night
Platoon
The Beast of War
Tobruk
Waterloo
Spartacus
The Counterfeit Traitor
Von Ryans Express
The Long Ships

It's quite out of the WWII era for some [:)] In that case, I shall add some that are not about WW2 :
- Blue Max (fiction on a german pilot in WW1)
- Alexander Nevsky (soviet propaganda film 1938 in B&W, but I like it it's epic nevertheless)
- War and Peace (the one made in the 60's, the film with the best napoleonic era's battle scenes, showing the Battle of Borodino)
- Iron Cross (fiction on a decorated, desillusioned german soldier on the eastern front, WW2)

[micheljq]

deleted

[marcejap]

ORIGINAL: micheljq
- Blue Max (fiction on a german pilot in WW1)

Starring George Peppard, also colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in A-Team tv series and starring in Blake Edward's masterpiece Breakfast at Tiffany's.

[micheljq]

ORIGINAL: marcejap

ORIGINAL: micheljq
- Blue Max (fiction on a german pilot in WW1)

Starring George Peppard, also colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in A-Team tv series and starring in Blake Edward's masterpiece Breakfast at Tiffany's.

And starring Ursula Andress wow!!!! [&o]

[brian brian]

I was watching some DVD last year, I forget which, and the trailers at the beginning included a blurb for a 25th (I think) Anniversary edition of "Das Boot" ... is this out yet?

[joey]

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler's List

Das Boot

Letters from Iwo Jima


Band Of Brothers

The Pacific

I like them In this order. Tough list to beat!

[Centuur]

Is it? I didn't like Saving Private Ryan at all. To much "Hollywood" style, I'm afraid. However: taste is personal, isn't it.

Personally, I think that Stalingrad is the best movie about WW II on land. However, I am a little biased by this, because my greatuncle from Austria did fight at Stalingrad and there are some parts of his war diaries that were used in the movie (especially the scene early in the movie when they are on the train in Russia on the way to the front is taken largely from his diary).
He was one of the lucky ones: he was wounded (granatesplitter in his back and lost the use of his right arm) and was able to get out of the encirclement by walking to the airfield and catch a plane. He was in the elite "Sturmpioniere" battaljons who the German command send in to take the famous Tractor Works from the Russians. Of his battaljon (all coming from the same Austrian village) only a few came back out of Russia.
I've read his diaries on the war after he died (he did only give copies to the producers of the movie, we found out after his death that he did so and that that scene was taken from his diary). He never ever spoke of the Stalingrad period to his relatives, not even to his wife... The movie Stalingrad is good and looks very cruel at some places. However: it doesn't even come close to all the violence and strange things I've read in that diary...

[AndyG1]

Centuur's last comment about his Great uncle immediately brought back memories of a book I read whilst still a teenager (likely 30 plus years ago) . The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. That book is an incredible true story from a soldier fighting for the Germans on the Eastern Front. Well worth a read if you can get hold of a copy.

[brian brian]

Forgotten Soldier is good...I think that is the soldier from Alsace or Lorraine? And I think he is in the GrossDeutschland division?

There is one from a soldier in the 10th or 12th SS division ... 'The Black March'. A little chilling at times.

I like personal memoirs from soldiers. I don't think very many are translated....so in another country, you would only see the better ones.

In the USA, I have read a couple boring ones from American soldiers. One was from a guy in the Signal Corps......he is thus always behind the lines, and nothing all that interesting ever happened to him. So I doubt anyone in another country will ever read that one.

[micheljq]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

Forgotten Soldier is good...I think that is the soldier from Alsace or Lorraine? And I think he is in the GrossDeutschland division?

That is correct, french from his father and german from his mother.

[JLPOWELL]

Most of the good ones have been mentioned.
My favorite was always Patton, but for authintic equipment and fun (but nothing else authentic) you can't beat Kelly's Heroes

[Extraneous]

"The Password Is Courage (1962) (Black and White)" the true story of Sergeant-Major Charles Coward.


See how many things that are in this movie that they used in "The Great Escape (1963)".

[MajorDude]

ORIGINAL: JLPOWELL

Most of the good ones have been mentioned.
My favorite was always Patton, but for authintic equipment and fun (but nothing else authentic) you can't beat Kelly's Heroes

I too was curious about all those Shermans etc. This is what I found:

"...Yugoslavia was chosen mostly because earnings from previous showings of movies there could not be taken out of the country, but could be used to fund the production.

Also the Yugoslav army had in its inventory U.S. Sherman tanks (part of the military aid packages received when Marshal Tito split ways with Joseph Stalin and the U.S. feared a Red Army intervention through Hungary)..."


The Tiger tanks were apparently T-34's already modified for a Soviet film shot a year before. [8D]

[Edfactor]

Well I like
The Longest Day the best
To Hell and Back
Midway (minus the father son story)
Patton (accurate story, not so accurate tanks)

[borner]

Bridge too Far
Longest Day
Tora Tora Tora
 
I see some people mentioned Pearl Harbor on the worst list. I thought the question was about war films? [:D]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: borner

Bridge too Far
Longest Day
Tora Tora Tora

I see some people mentioned Pearl Harbor on the worst list. I thought the question was about war films? [:D]

Warspite1

borner, if you mention that film by name again I will report you to Erik okay? It is The Film That Shall Not Be Named or TFTSNBN .

"I think World War II just broke out"